1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to coil bobbins and housings for automotive accessories such as cranking motor solenoids that employ self-sealing couplers for restraining and sealing with an end section of a wire communicating into a housing.
2. Prior Art and Problems Addressed
In automotive applications requiring the use of large electrical currents, such as cranking motors, cranking motor solenoids, alternators, etc., it is advisable to reduce the number of connections utilized in bringing the ends of coil wires to terminals or connectors located external to the housing. It is normally necessary to form an integral seal between the housing and the wire in order to prevent the contamination of components within the housing by water, dirt, or manufacturing materials such as solder.
While these objectives can be attained by the use of hand assembly and soldering techniques, these manufacturing methods are highly inefficient in high volume, high quality, low cost applications. Examples of solutions suitable for low volume manufacturing processes include Braithwaite in U.S. Pat. No. 2,447,631 which discloses the use of a thermoplastic, heat-softenable barrier material that is wrapped around a section of the wire as it exits the housing. Hanchett in U.S. Pat. No. 2,432,194 seals the opening through which the lead wires exit the housing by filling the holes with a suitable composition which is first melted and then poured into the opening so as to cool and solidify for forming a barrier against undesirable contaminates.
In order to address the obvious cost, reliability and manufacturing disadvantages of these and similar manufacturing methodologies, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for sealing an end section of a coil of wire as it communicates through and exits an aperture in the housing of an automotive accessory. It is a further object of the present invention to reduce the requirement for expensive hand assembly and to provide an assembly that lends itself to high volume, low cost automated manufacturing techniques.